Friction

Friction founding members Reck (vocals, guitar, bass) and Chiko-Hige (drums, sax) spent time in the New York No Wave scene, playing in Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, the Contortions and with Lydia Lunch. They transplanted this influence into their Tokyo based band Friction starting in 1978, and with a semi-liquid line-up created an angular music in the realm of PIL and the Birthday Party. When they released their debut EP I Can Tell (1979), on the indie Pass label, it quickly drew acclaim...

Friction founding members Reck (vocals, guitar, bass) and Chiko-Hige (drums, sax) spent time in the New York No Wave scene, playing in Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, the Contortions and with Lydia Lunch. They transplanted this influence into their Tokyo based band Friction starting in 1978, and with a semi-liquid line-up created an angular music in the realm of PIL and the Birthday Party. When they released their debut EP I Can Tell (1979), on the indie Pass label, it quickly drew acclaim within arty circles. After a couple more indie releases, in 1982 the band jumped to CBS/Sony, where they released Skin Deep. Ultimately the band never broke into mainstream success, but they still have much cred in alternative music circles, and the band has been revived from time to time. Their album Zone Tripper (1995) was especially well received, and re-issued in 1999 by John Zorn's Tzadik label. Reck has also toured and recorded with trumpeter Toshinori Kondo. Outside of music, Reck has become quite acclaimed as a photographer, usually taking photos of late night city landscapes.